1. Field of the Invention
Wine making process.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the past, it has been the practice to crush the grapes, with the juice, pulp and skins then being disposed in fermentation vats. Soon after the above described material is placed in the fermentation tanks or vats, yeast is added thereto to cause the fermentation of the material into wine. After the yeast is added to the material in the fermentation vats, the skins of the grapes start rising and thereafter float as a mat on the top of the liquid material in the vat. During fermentation of the material in the vats, carbon dioxide is discharged and rises upwardly therefrom, but the skins, as it accumulates on the surface of the liquid material in the vat as a mat tends to prevent this gas from escaping to the ambient atmosphere.
The floating skins are subjected on the bottom to the carbon dioxide being generated by the fermentation process, and on the top the pressure of the ambient atmosphere, and as a result the skins are pressed together as a compact mat or cap that acts as a barrier to impede the escape of carbon dioxide from the fermenting material.
During the exothermic fermentation reaction substantial heat is generated, and this mat acts to prevent the escape of the heat to the ambient atmosphere. A further discharge of the mat above described is that it serves to harbor and encourage the propagation of numerous undesirable bacteria that are anaerobic and are tolerant to the alcoholic content of the fermenting liquid.
To permit the extraction of color and other essential matter from the skins. The mat must be kept moist, and periodically broken up either by manually stirring or using power driven paddles, sprinklers, agitators or the like. This breaking up of the mat to permit the fermentation process to proceed is not only costly and time consuming, but involves much labor. The mat furthermore acts as an insulator and impedes the escape of heat from the fermenting liquid in the vat. In the event the temperature rises to an unduly high degree in the vat there is a loss of aromatic essentials from the fermenting liquid as well as the liquid acquiring an undesirable color. Should the temperature of the fermenting liquid rise too high, the yeast may be totally destroyed, and the mass will then become what is known as a "stuck must." Furthermore, wine fermented in the above described manner requires special equipment to pump and separate the wine from the skins after the fermentation has progressed and this in itself is hazardous with respect to the quality of the wine as well as being expensive.
The primary object in developing the present process is to substantially eliminate the operational disadvantages of prior art wine making processes in that the juice and pulp of grapes are fermented out of contact with the skins, inasmuch as no mat is formed in the fermentation vats, the carbon dioxide generated during the fermentation may escape freely therefrom to the ambient atmosphere, and heat generated by the exothermic fermentation process will likewise be dissipated, as a result, the fermentation process will be carried out with a substantial reduction in labor, a saving in time, less wear on equipment, and easier control of temperature.
Another object of the invention is to supply a process in which the wine resulting from the fermentation is of a substantially uniform color and taste, and a wine that is free of wild bacteria that may add objectionable characteristics thereto from the standpoint of bouquet, appearance and taste.
A still further object of the invention is to supply a process in which the pressed grapes are subjected to an aqueous mixture of an acid, such as hydrochloric acid and citric acid to provide an extract that contains coloring material from the grapes, protein and aromatic substances, with this extract subsequently having the hydrochloric acid therein neutralized with sodium carbonate or a like material. The extract is then added to the fermenting grape material prior to completion of the fermentation process to add a desired color to the wine resulting therefrom.
Yet another object of the invention is to supply a process for fermenting grapes in which the wine resulting therefrom is of a sugstantially uniform characteristic both as to taste and color appearance that is not possible by prior art processes without the expenditure of great effort and time, and the supervision of highly skilled personnel.
A further object of the invention is to supply a process in which the skin that has had the coloring at least partially leached therefrom is subsequently combined with approximately 0.4N acid to provide a base material that may be partially neutralized, have sugar added and fermented with yeast, with the alcohol resulting therefrom distilled off to provide a brandy base or specialty wine.